The present invention relates to a device for latching a convertible folding roof of a vehicle, to the header of the windscreen of the vehicle, comprising pull-to means located in the header, which pull-to means can grip the roof in a position thereof close to the header and can pull the roof against the header, and drive means for driving the pull-to means.
Such a device is known, for example, from EP 0 492 006, and is used in particular in a vehicle with a convertible folding roof made of fabric. If the rear edge of the roof is immovably connected to the vehicle, when the roof is being closed, irrespective of whether this is carried out manually or by mechanical means, the front edge of the roof will remain a few centimeters away from the header. In order to move the roof against the header the fabric of the roof must be placed under tension. For this purpose, the device known from EP 0 492 006 comprises two pull-to mechanisms, each placed at one side of the vehicle in the header of the windscreen. Each pull-to mechanism comprises a movable hook element which can engage with a matching eye-shaped element disposed on the movable roof and can then pull the roof downwards until the roof rests against the header. The pull-to mechanisms of the known device are designed in such a way that the roof is locked by the pull-to mechanisms themselves in the position pulled against the header. The locking of the roof in this position is essential, since accidental opening of the roof must be avoided in all circumstances.
The known device has the disadvantage that the header has to have undesirably large dimensions for the accommodation of a pull-to mechanism at each end. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the way in which the pull-to means work requires such pull-to means to have large dimensions. On the other hand, it is important that in the position in which the roof is at a short distance from the header the position of the roof relative to the header can vary within a tolerance range, in particular in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle. This tolerance range is determined by the design of the roof, in particular by the movement mechanism of the roof. The parts of the roof to be gripped by the pull-to means thus must have dimensions which take the tolerance range into account. This means in the case of the device disclosed by EP 0 492 006 that each eye-shaped element has an engagement opening in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle which corresponds to the sum of the thickness of the hook element and the tolerance range. Due to the fact that the pull-to means pull the eye-shaped elements into the header, the header must have undesirably large dimensions at those points.